LEDified and its subsidiary companies have been certified as meeting the requirements of the ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems standard, as well as AS/NZS 4801 Occupational Health & Safety and ISO 14001 Environmental Management.

This is part of our continuous improvement as a business and ensure we will continue to design, deliver and support your energy efficiency needs now and into the future.

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Looking To Innovative Lighting

By Bill Proudfoot, Head Of Infrastructure And Strategic Sales, LEDified

While the use of light-emoting diode (LED) lights is now largely mainstream in Australia, evolution of the disruptive technology movement of “smart” lighting has been painful for sector participants – both pioneers of new technology and industry laggards – and anything but revolutionary for end users…

This article is posted on FACILITY PERSPECTIVES | VOLUME 11 NUMBER 3 |

While best-practice energy initiatives in the property sector mandate their use, those at the cutting edge of the sector haven’t had a smooth ride. A recent report issued by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and produced by Norman Disney & Young (NDY). “Energy in Building: 50 Best Practice Energy Initiatives”, discussed a number of energy initiatives, including lighting technologies, that are now enjoying payback periods of less than five years.

Standards for emerging technologies limit industry uptake, and alternatively, market forces also have an effect. For example, the widespread electricity price rises and changes to industry standards, such as NABERS settable area size threshold, can also play a role,. According to Trevor Stock. Fellow of the Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand, and Lighting Design Lecturer at RMIT, “Australia has one of the highest regulatory and standards control environments word wide, From product approval to commercialisation, including adherence to the National Construction Code requirements, and the various energy-efficiency government schemes, it is a time-consuming and expensive investment that is required by the suppliers for the protection of consumers”.

Vanilla LED lighting or LED technology “with the lot”?

LEDs have been around for more than 55 years in one form or the other, but only in recent times has their adoption within the facilities management sector become ubiquitous.

This was largely driven by the advent of blue LEDs in the early 1990s by Shuji Nakamura at Nichia, which led to the commercialisation of the “white” LED. In addition, the capability of the LED driver and the chipest had to be fully optimised to enable a better user experience though a reduction in flicker and dimming control issues.

Adoption of LED technology has been driven by the significant reduction in pricing; a higher-quality offering with higher efficacy, and higher colour-rendering index (CRI) with better user experiences; and rising energy prices that have encouraged facilities managers to adopt energy-efficient technologies, Adding to this, government energy efficiency schemes in Victoriam New Soth Wales and South Australia in particular have helped underpin the growth and compeition now seen in the market. Despite some setbacks, the industry is pushing ahead. “The success of disruption and innovation in technology is a lot to do with timing and backing the right framework,” says Juv Jayaram, Chief Technology Officer at LEDified – a company that wasn’t immune to the dearth of commercial installation requiring highly sophisticated control systems.

Despite an initial rollout at Lakes Entrance Aquadome in early 2015 using highbay lighting that included sophisticated control systems, few LEDified clients have sought out the benefits of daylight harvesting and wiles controls due to cost constraints and a difficulty to quantify, in advance, the return light on investment (ROI). Verification of post- installation savings of these features has also proven problematic.

The majority of LEDified’s customer base opt for standard retrofits from old technology to energy-efficient and reduced-maintenance LEDs, rather than the alternative of the more sophisticated option.

Internet of Things

“Internet of Things (loT) technology has assisted in the evolution of sensors and controls, which, in the lighting space to date, have been the dominion of incumbents and proprietary technologies, such as digital addressable logic interface, more commonly known as DALI, Jayaram says. “Open standards around protocols, such as ZigBee and Bluetooth mesh networks, turn LEDs into a smart lighting system, and also lower ov the barriers to entry, distributing the capacity to innovate across a wider population.”

According to lan Johnson MIES. Technical Director at Voxlen, “Lighting has moved from ho the analogue control space, with traditional light sources, to the digital age with LED, allowing for the integration of sophisticated control and interface that has not been previously achievable”.

Analogue versus digital

Johnson goes on to say, “Being a digital light source, the control function is vastly simplified. With traditional lighting, effective control solutions have been limited by the restrictive characteristics of discharge luminaires, with long warm-up and re-strike times, LED start, run-up and re-strike is instantaneous.”

The digital revolution sweeping the lighting control industry makes control zoning independent of hard-line circuitry. with a number of obvious benefits. Multiple input devices can be connected to the programmable controller (PC or phone, via the loT), allowing multiple control strategies to be enacted in the same space.

Where to next?

The current battleground in the lighting sector is sports lighting and major road lighting. Both of these sectors have their own unique challenges that the industry is currently focused on solving.

Lighting innovation has been an ongoing trade since the invention of electricity; however, not all innovation is taken up in practice. Ultimately, commercial viability is based on market demand and consumer acceptance. Whatever happened to the sulphur lamp, the induction lamp and the organic light-emitting diode (OLED)?

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This handbook is also intended to help the market adapt to the rapid and continuous changes to technology and industry practice. For example, in the past five years LED lighting and EC (electronically commutated) fans have leapt from the fringe to standard practice in many buildings. Check out the case studies below or download the full report here.

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Source: Norman Disney Young, Energy in Buildings 50 Best Practice Initiatives, Clean Energy Finance Corporation 2017

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LEDified is Australia’s largest full service LED specialist. LEDified designs and procures its own class-leading, patented LED products direct from world class manufacturers. From downlights in the boardroom, to highbays in the warehouse and everything in between, LEDified has an LED light to suit your needs.The migration to LED lighting is supported by the Australian Government phase-out of inefficient lighting as well as the state based Victorian VEET, NSW IPART, SA REES and national ERF programs. These initiatives are helping everyone from SMEs to large corporations make the switch to LED lights. Contact us today to learn why retrofitting your lights is a great idea for your business.

 

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Finkel’s Missed Energy Efficiency Opportunity

Now the dust is settling after the release of the Finkel Review of the Australian energy market, let us hope it’s not the sort of dust that collects in some bureaucratic pigeonhole.

The early signs aren’t good. Statements by some Coalition MPs that Finkel is ‘merely a report to government, not government policy’ are often code for ‘kill this thing at birth’.

And media coverage of the much-anticipated report has concentrated as much on, if not more on, dissension in Coalition ranks – what the Canberra press gallery terms the ‘optics’ – as it has on the contents of the document.

Unfortunately, even what used to be described as the ‘quality’ press, with a couple of notable exceptions, has focussed on the political noise around the report’s release rather than its substance.

Apparently Finkel is as much about the Prime Minister’s security (of tenure) as it is about the security of the National Electricity Market.

Which perhaps is why a glaring omission in the Chief Scientist’s report has been overlooked by commentators – to wit, how can a discussion about the future security of the NEM not have more to say about demand-side activities, in particular energy efficiency?

Admittedly, Dr Finkel’s emphasis on the supply-side isn’t all that surprising. An electrical engineer, he has long advocated nuclear power in Australia (and sure enough, it got a mention at page 109 of his report). Good luck with that …

But his failure to address the immense benefits to be derived from the suite of energy efficiency activities – and not just economic and financial savings, also the energy security benefits that result – is a major opportunity missed.

Finkel does allow, correctly, that ‘consumers are at the heart of the transition’ [in the Australian electricity system] and that ‘more attention should be paid to how we can best reward consumers for demand management … combined with improved energy efficiency’ to help reduce power bills.

However, apart from a couple of passing references to energy efficiency in his recommendations, that’s it. ‘Governments should accelerate the roll out of broader energy efficiency measures …’ he recommends, with no guidance as to which governments and what ‘broader measures’.

Well, yes, but surely the obvious value proposition is for a national energy savings scheme that builds on the excellent foundation of relatively modest existing schemes in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and the ACT.

Such a national scheme would gather in the other jurisdictions of Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory – and, based on the experience in Victoria and NSW in particular, at no net cost.

Achieving energy security (and, by the way, reducing carbon pollution) in our resource-rich country isn’t just about generating more electrons; it’s also about encouraging energy users, especially in the commercial and industrial sectors, to use fewer electrons (not to mention increasingly expensive gas molecules).

If the Australian Government can’t meet the challenge, then let our State Governments continue to pick up the slack.

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World Environment Day is the biggest annual event for positive environmental action and takes place every 5 June. ‘Connecting People to Nature’, is the theme for World Environment Day 2017, implores us to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and its importance, and to take forward the call to protect the Earth that we share.

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When lights are turned on in the evening, there always seems to be some bugs appearing out of nowhere. The insects are attracted to the light in swarms and surprisingly end up in lighting shades, trays and bulbs at times.

There’s been some speculation as to whether or not LED lights attract insects. There’s been a few scientific studies to address the issue.

Bugs are attracted to a colour spectrum, rather than a specific type of light bulb.

A study conducted by the Department of Entomology in Pakistan concluded that bugs were attracted to the different colour spectrums in light rather than a specific light bulb. The study showed that 22% of bugs were attracted to the blue spectrum, while 18% were attracted to white, 10% to yellow, 2% to red and 4.7% to green. The study was conducted to help develop light insect traps (rather than pesticides) for the agricultural industry.

The findings are interesting because they also show that light bulb manufacturers cannot claim that their light bulb won’t attract insects.

Sage publishing offers another research paper titled, “Lighting Research & Technology”, which is a more up-to-date study that covers the effects of residential energy-saving lamps on the attraction of nocturnal insects.

LED lights can be more favourable for insects.

LED lights are much cooler than their incandescent or ultraviolet counterparts. So bugs that decide to hang around the light aren’t likely to get burned up. It is possible that the light could attract alot more bugs over time. However, this would only occur if you left the LED light exposed to the outdoor elements.

Is it true?

It is true that the light emitted by LED lights can attract bugs, but it is unfair to make the claim that LED light bulbs attract more bugs than other lightbulbs. It’s more likely that it will affect external lighting such as floodlights or downlights that are exposed to outdoor elements.

You can see the original discussion on the article on Lux Review.

Do you have any thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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We’re going to share a few reasons why LED lights should be factored into retailers marketing mix.

Cosmetic appeal makes a big difference to customer’s buying decisions.

First impressions count. You might be selling a beautiful product, but if the light and shadows don’t show off its true beauty, then people won’t be attracted to the product. The right type of lighting creates a character that resonates with prospective buyers. People will be more inclined to connect with lighting moods and colours that they will enjoy. A shopper that visits the fruit and vegetable section of a retail store might make an instant connection with a bright red apple (given that they connect with the colour red) and decide to make an impulse purchase. LuxReview cited a study whereby pastel coloured uplights increased basket values by six percent.

Reduces retail lighting overhead costs.

Retailers often run on tight margins and need to implement a business model that will allow them to price their stock items competitively. LED lights have helped retailers cut down their overhead lighting costs by as much as 60%. These cost savings can then be reinvested into the business or passed onto the customer.

Lighting design can direct people’s attention towards certain products.

There’s a great summary for retail lighting by Lumastream. Lights should be used to direct people’s attention towards products, but in an engaging way. Making use of contrast, accents and colour will help to make people more receptive towards the retail environment, as well as engage with more products. Task lighting should be placed at the point of sale and enable employees to process the transaction quickly and efficiently. Decorative lighting can be used to enhance the look and feel of the space.

Recommended resource: Retail stores – Where lighting matters.

Do you have any thoughts about LED lighting being used in retail marketing? Let us know in the comments below. 

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